Machine for setting up collapsed cardboard cartons



Feb. 5, 1957 R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed Nov. 26, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 1 I m 1|| n 33 50 "A! as J: 15 l z! \fli 1y 3: Q tINVENTORJ i @[IZAO//A-PZGYISOn. (a 1 BY 5enn z/ Mremz'czy Atty.

Feb. 5, 1957 v R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP .COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS 4 Shgets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 26, 1954 Aria.

INVENTORJ Fez'zzd/afi. Pearson Kenny l/eremz'czy/ 1957 R. A. PEARSONETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed NOV. 26, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 3 M If INVENTORS A ez'n0/cz fl./earson y Emmy Weren'zigyAlta 1957 R. A. PEARSON ETAL 2,780,148

MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONS Filed Nov. 26, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 4 lill ar ZJa 5? 1NVENTOR fiz'nfio/d' A Pearson By Benny Ih/efemz'czyk mw Atty.

United States Patent MACHINE FOR SETTING UP COLLAPSED CARDBOARD CARTONSReinhold A..Pearson and Benny Weremiczyk, Spokane, Wash.

Application November 26, 1954, Serial No. 471,460

5 Claims. (Cl. 93-53) The present invention relates to improvements in amachine for setting up collapsed cardboard cartons.

In the production and marketing of bottled or canned beverages, it iscommon practice to package the bottles or cans in groups of six. Forthis purpose, the currently wellknowu-six bottle cartons have come intowide usage. These cartons are fabricated and supplied to the bottling orcanning factories in a collapsed condition so as to conserve on shippingspace. Now, while the bottling or canningfactories are equipped withmachines to fill the cartons, there is not in common use a simplemachine that will expand or set up the collapsed cartons. for filling.This operation is currently carried out by hand .at a considerableexpense of time and money.

It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide amachine which will automatically expand the previously constructedcollapsed'sixbottle cartons.

A' further purpose of the invention is to provide such a machine whichwill draw the collapsed carton from a stack, expand the carton, lockitin the expanded position in the manner provided for in the cartonconstruction, and eject the expanded carton fromthe machine.

The particular type of carton that our improved setting up machineisadapted tomanipulate, is similar to those shown in the patents toMichael H. Kowal, No. 2,525,686, granted October 10, 1950, and to EdwinL. Arneson, No. 2,537,615, granted January 9, 1951. These cartonsarecomprised of two side walls, two end walls, and abottom wall. A centerpartition extends the length of'the carton and is attached to the twoend walls. The center partition also has transverse partitions extendingtherefrom to the side walls to form six compartments, three on each sideof the center partition, into which the bottles or cans may be inserted.

The cartons are supplied to the bottling factory in a collapsedcondition. The end walls each have a vertical fold line at the centeradjacent the end of the center partition, and the bottom wall has a foldline extending along the center thereof adjacent the bottom of thecenter partition. When the carton is collapsed, the end and bottom wallsfold at the center and bring the, sidewalls together. One end wallvfolds in between the side walls and the other folds out from them. Thebottom wall also folds out from the side walls.

To hold the carton open, a notch is cut in the bottom of th'ecenterpartition nearthe end wall which folds inward. The end of the bottomwall adjacent the notch fits into the notch. The tendency of the cartonis to resume its collapsed shape, but it cannot unless the. centerpartition can move endwise with respect to the sides and bottom as theend walls fold. This action cannot occur while the bottom wall is seatedin the notch, and the tendencyto do so keeps the bottom wallin thenotch.

Our machine utilizes a pair of stationary suction cups to'hold one sideWall of the carton securely to the opening platform, and a pair ofmoving suctioncups to grasp the opposite side wall of the collapsedcarton and lift it away to expand the carton. Asthe carton opens two camoperated fingers pivoted on the platform swing up. One finger swings upagainst the. end wall which is folded outwardly from the side walls andpushes that wall toward the side walls. The other finger swings upagainst the outwardly folded bottom wall and pushes it toward the sidewalls. The bottom wall engaging finger is positioned so that it engagesthe bottom wall near the end thereof which fits into the notch in thecenter partition. As the outwardly folded end wall is pushed toward theside walls, the center partition of the carton is moved eudwise withinthe carton.

Both of the fingers are activated from the same cam, so they fold thebottom and end wall into their expanded position at the same time. Theend wall engaging finger continues to move in against the carton afterit reaches the expanded position so that the center partition is movedendwise past its final expanded position. The bottom wall engagingfinger, however, is connected to the actuating mechanism through acompression spring so that it may stop when it has pushed the bottomwall slightly past the expanded position, and the additional motionnecessary to move the center partition farther is taken up in thecompression spring. The bottom wall is pressed inward, then, just enoughso that when the end wall is pushed in a sufficient distance to move thenotchv formed therein past the end of the bottom wall, it will snap intothe notch.

The cam that actuates the fingers then causes them to reverse theirdirection, and they pivot down into the plane of the opening platform.Due to the compression spring in the linkage to the bottom wall engagingfinger, that finger holds the bottom wall end into the notch until theend wall finger has retreated far enough to allow the bottom wall end tobe firmly seatedin the notch. it will be appreciated that the naturaltendency of the carton to return to its collapsed condition will besuificient to cause the center partition to follow the retreating endwall finger and cause the bottom wall to be securely seated in the notchtherein.

The nature and advantages ofrny invention will appear more fully fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings wherein apreferred form of the invention is shown. The description and drawingsare illustrative only, however, and are not intended to limit theinvention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine with the feeding and deliverysection broken away, and showing a collapsed carton in position to beopened;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the machine shown in Figure 1except showing the carton expanded and the bottom wall ready to befitted into the notch in the center partition;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44of Figure 2; I

Figure 5 is. an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-501. Figure3; and

Figures/7, 8, 9, and 10 are somewhat diagrammatic sectional views takenon the line of Figure 2 showing the several steps involved in securingthe carton in open position.

Referring now to, the drawings and to Figures 1, Q, and 3 in particular,my machine is shown as comprising a supporting framework 12 upon whichthe several parts are mounted. At one end of the framework 12, a stackof flattened cartons 13, is positioned. A rack 14 secures the stack ofcartons 13 in place. The cartons are one at a time fed from the bottomof the stack by a suitable Patented Feb. 5, 1957,

feeding device. This device forms no part of the present invention so itis not shown or described.

The flattened cartons 13 are fed from the rack 13 onto an openingplatform 15. Guide members 16 and 17 at the edges of the platform guidethe cartons into the correct position for opening. A stop 18 mounted onthe guide member 16 engages the flattened carton 13 and stops it when itis correctly positioned on the platform 15.

The carton 13 are formed of two side walls 19 and 20, two end walls 21and 22, and a bottom wall 23. A center partition 24 extends through thecarton 13 between the side walls 19 and 20 and is connected to the endwalls 21 and 22 at their centers. The center partition 24 has cut outstherein to form several transverse partitions 25 which extend to theside walls 19 and 20 to divide the carton 13 into six compartments. Theend walls 21 and 22 have vertical fold lines therein at their centersadjacent the ends of the center partition 24, and the bottom wall 23 hasa fold line at its center which extends parallel to the sides 19 and 20.The carton 13 is so constructed that the side walls 19 and 20 and theendwalls 21 and 22 are permanently joined. The bottom wall 23 is joined tothe side walls 19 and 20 but not to the end walls 21 and 22. When thecarton 13 .is in the collapsed condition, the end walls 21 and 22 arefolded so that the side walls 19 and 2%) are brought together. The endwall 21 folds outwardly so that the sections thereof on either side ofthe fol-d extend outwardly from the sides 19 and 20 and the end Wall 22folds inwardly so that the sections on either side of its fold arepositioned between the side walls 19 and 20. The center partition 24 ispositioned between the side walls 19 and 20 but is displaced endwisetherefrom since its ends are attached to the center folds of the walls21 and 22. The bottom wall 23 is folded so that the portion thereof oneither side of the fold extend outwardly from the side walls 19 and 20.Figure 1 shows the carton in this condition.

In order to keep the carton 13 in expanded condition, a notch 24a isformed in the lower edge of the center partition 24 near the end thereofattached to the inwardly folding end wall 22. A cooperating notch 23a isformed in the edge of the bottom wall 23 adjacent the end wall 22. Whenthe carton 13 is expanded, the notch 23a of the bottom wall 23 is fittedinto the notch 24a of the center partition and holds the carton 13 inthe expanded position.

After the carton 13 has been delivered onto the opening platform 15,stationary suction cups 26 set into the platform 15 grasp the side wall20 which is on the underside of the flattened carton 13. The suctioncups 26 are connected by a hose 27 to a vacuum supply line 28. Thevacuum supply line 28 is attached to a vacuum pump (not shown) on theframe 12.

A vertical actuating arm 29 is positioned on the frame 12 adjacent theopening platform 15. The arm is slidably supported by an upper guidemember 30 and a lower guide member 31. The guide member 30 is supportedby an angle iron 32 attached to the rack 14 and the lower guide 31 issupported by the horizontal guide member 17 which is positioned at theside of platform 15. A bar 33 extends up from the guide 31 to the guide30 and serves to further support the actuating arm 29 for verticalmovement with respect to the frame 12. The actuating arm 29 carriesthereon a horizontally extending mounting plate 34, which extends overthe opening platform 15. A set of suction cup are mounted face down onthe underside of the plate 34 directly above the cups 26 on the platform15. The suction cups 35 are connected by a hose 36 to the vacuum supplyline 28 so that they may lift the wall 20 of the carton.

At the lower end of the actuating arm 29, a cam follower 37 ispositioned. The cam follower rests on the surface of a carton expandingcam 38 which is fixed to a main operating shaft 39 rotatably supportedon the frame 12 below the opening platform 15. The shaft 39 is driven ata suitable speed by a motor (not shown). The cam 33 is so shaped that assoon as a flattened carton 13 is fed from the rack 14 to the platform15, the cam 38 causes the actuating arm to move downward, carrying thesuction cup 35 down against the side Wall 19 of the flattened box 13.The suction cups 35 then grasp the side wall 19, and the stationarysuction cups 26 on the platform 15 grasp the opposite side wall 20 ofthe carton 13. The cam 38 then causes the actuating arm 29 to rise, andcauses the suction cups 35 to pull the side 19 of the carton upwardlyaway from the side wall 20. This action causes the carton to expand intoits open position.

A finger mounting plate 40 is fixed on the frame 12 under the flattenedcarton 13 and forms a portion of the latform 15. The plate 40 is sopositioned that when the flattened carton 13 is resting on the platform15, the plate 4% is under the fold line separating the side wall 20 fromthe bottom wall 23. The plate 40 has a transverse notch 41 therein nearthe end thereof closest to the feed rack 14. A bottom wall engagingfinger 42 is positioned in the notch 41 and pivotally secured therein bya bolt 43. The finger 42 is positioned with respect to the carton 13 onthe platform so that when pivoted on the bolt 43, it will swing up andengage the bottom wall of the carton near the end thereof where thenotch 23a is formed and assist in folding it into its expanded position.A second notch 44 is formed in the plate 40 at the end thereof remotefrom the feed rack 14. An end wall engaging finger 45 is positioned inthe notch 44 and pivotally secured by a bolt 46. The notch 44 is formedin the plate 40 at right angles to the notch 41 and so positioned withrespect to the carton 13 that when the finger 45 i pivoted about thebolt 46, it will engage the outwardly folding end wall 21 of the carton,and force it toward its final expanded position.

The fingers 42 and 45 are normally pivoted down so that they lie in theplane of the plate 40 in order that they will not obstruct the flattenedcarton 13 when it is delivered onto the platform 15. When the suctioncups 26 and 35 have grasped the sides 19 and 20 of the carton and thesuction cups 35 have started to move upwardly, the fingers 42 and 45 arecaused to pivot about the bolts 43 and 46 and swing up against theoutwardly folded bottom and end walls 23 and 21 respectively. Figure 7shows the fingers in this position. When the suction cups 35 have openedthe carton 13 to its final expanded position, they cease to move. At thitime, the fingers 42 and 45 have folded the bottom and end walls 23 and21 until the sections thereof on either side of the folds lie in thesame plane. However, at this point the notches 23a and 24a are notengaged. It is necessary that the center partition 24 be moved endwisebeyond its expanded position so that the notch 23:! in the edge of thebottom wall 23 may slip past the tip of the notch 24a in the centerpartition. To accomplish this, the fingers 42 and 45 continue to pivotand force the bottom and end Walls 23 and 21 inwardly, moving the centerpartition 24 endwise beyond its expanded position, and bowing the bottomwall 23 inwardly. When the finger 42 has bowed the bottom wall 23inwardly a short distance, as shown in Figure 8, it stops its motion andholds the wall 23 in this position. The finger 45, however, continues toforce the end wall 21 into the carton 13 and thereby continues to movethe center partition endwise until the .tip of the notch 24a has movedpast the notch 23a in the bottom wall. When this occurs, the end of thebottom wall snaps inward as shown in Figure 9 due to the force exertedby the finger 42.

When the end of the bottom wall has snapped past the lip of the notch24a, the notches 23a and 24a are aligned so that they may beinterlocked. The finger 45, then reverses its direction and pivotsdownwardly, allowing the natural .tendency of the carton to return toits collapsed condition to cause the center partition to move back toits final expanded position. The finger42, however, remains stationaryand holds the end of the bottom wall into the mouth of the notch 24duntil the finger 45' and the center partition 24 have retreated farenough so that the notch 23.4 has seated wellintothe notch 24a, and thebottom wall cannot snap back" past the tip of the notch 24a. When thenotches 23a and 240 are interlocked, both the fingers Hand 45' pivotdown to their normal position in the plane of the mounting plate asshown in Figure l0. I

In order to successfully expand'the carton 13 and interlock the notches23a and 24a, it is necessary that the fingers 42 and pivotupland foldthebottom and end walls 23 and 21 inwardly at the same rate. It is alsonecessary that the finger 42 stop and remain stationary after it hasbowed the bottom wall 23 slightly, while the finger the endwall 21further inward and moves the center partition 24' until the bottom wall23 snaps into the opening of the notch 24a, and then retreats andengages the notches 23a and 24a. 4

To impart this motion to the fingers"42 and 45, a cam and link apparatusis provided on the machine and connected to each finger '42 and 45. Thefingers 42 and 45 have lever portions 42a and 45a'formed thereon bywhich fingers 42 and 45 are caused to pivot. The portion 42a ofthefinger 42 has a yoke 47 pivoted thereto. The yoke 47 has a verticalaperture 48 inits base portion which receives a rod 49. The rod 49 hasahead 50 thereon which seats between the-legs 47a and 47b of the yokeand prevents the rod from passing through the aperture 48. The rod 49extendsdownwardly as shown in Figures 3 and 4 and has a threaded'portionthereon at its lower end. A lower yoke 51 "with a threaded aperture 52at its base threads onto the lower end of the rod 49 and is secured by alock nut53. Aspring 54 is positioned around the rod 49between the upperand lower yokes 47 and 51. Thesp ring is compressed between the upperyoke 47 and a washer 55 on the rod 49. The washer 55 is supported by apair of lock nuts 56 on the rod 49 and may be moved by the nuts 56 up ordown to compress the spring 54'the' desired amount. The spring 54bearing against the yoke 47 maintains it at the upper end of the rod 49against the head 50. A collar 57 "is positioned around the upper y'oke47 and clamped thereto by a bolt 58L The collar 57 limits the angulardisplacement of the lever portion 42a of the finger 42 within the yoke va stop limiting the pivotal action ofthe finger 42 when it has swung upas far as desired. The collar 57 can be adjusted by loosening the bolt58. g V

The-lever portion 45a of the finger 45 also has a yoke 59 pivotedthereto. This yoke 59 is mounted at the upper end of a rod 66 ofessentially the same dimensions as the rod 49. The rod 60 carries at itslower end a yoke 61 similar to the yoke 51 at the lower end 'of the rod49. are each pivotally attached to the opposite ends of an L-shapedhorizontal'arm 62, best shown in Figures 2 and 5. The arm 62 is fixedlysecured intermediate its ends toa slide 63' whichis mounted'for verticalmovement on a guide bar 64 secured to the frame 12. An actuating arm 65is fixed to the slide 63 and the horizontal arm 62 andextends downwardlytoward the main operating shaft 39. A cam follower 66 mounted. to theactuating arm 65 rides on the surface of a finger actuating cam 67 fixedto the shaft 39. A spring 68 attached between the slide 63 and the frame12 keeps the follower 66 solidly on the surface of the cam 67.

begin to expand the carton 13, it causes the actuating arm 66 to movethe slide 63 upward on the guide bar 64. This moves the horizontal arm62, and consequently the rods 49 and 60, upward and causes the fingers42 and 45 to be pivoted upward as hereinbefore described. The col- Theyoke 51 on the rod 49 and the yoke 61 onthe rod 60' The cam 67 is soshaped that as the suction cops 35 presses'the lar 57 iisadjiisted"on"theyoke 47 so that it willcause" thefin'g'eri42to stop when the bottomwall 23 of'the' carto'n 13"is slightly bowed into the box. The arm 62and rods 49 and 60; however,

continue to move up so as tooausethe finger '45 tocontinue the pivotalmotion necessary to bring thenotches 23a and 2411 into alignment: Thisadditional movement of the rod 49 after the finger 42 has stoppedpcausesthe rod 49 to slide farther through the aperture 48' in the yoke'47, andmerely comspring 54, without imparting additional motion to the finger42. When the finger 45 has reached the'end of its travel, the cam 67allows the slide 63 and the'horizontal arm 62 to move downward, pivotingthefinger 43 back from the carton. As the rod 49 is carried downward bythearm 62, thespring 54 expands, keeping the finger 42 in place untilthe notches 23a and 24a have" been interlocked. When the rod 49"hasmoved down enough to bring the head 50 into contact with the base of theyoke 47 again, the finger 42 begins to pivot away.

from the carton 13 with the finger 45.

As soonas the fingers 42 and 45 have reached their normal position inthe plane of the plate 40, a cam operated release valve in the vacuumline 28 (not shown) operates to temporarily'break the suction of thecups 26 and35. The'feed mechanism then slides a fresh flattenedcartononto thepl'atform'ls, and in so doing, pushes the expandedcarton-"13 out. 7

It may be'see'n from the foregoing description, that our improved cartonexpanding or setting up machine operates easily'and eflicientlyto set upand lock the collapsed cartons 13. The operation is very simple andrequires few moving parts. Any' suitable feed mechanism may feed thecollapsed carton to the opening platform 15 where it is gripped and heldby the stationarysuction cups 26. The carton expanding cam 38 causes thesuctioncups 35 to grasp'the upperside'wall 19 of the carton 13 and liftsitiaway, thus expanding the carton. fingeractuatin'g cam 66"operates topivot the fingers 42 and 45 upso that they may'fold the end and bottomwalls '21'and '23 into place, and interlock thenotches23a and 24a. Thecompression spring 54 in the'linkage betweenthe cam 66 and the bottomwall engaging finger 42 allows that finger 42 to stop and remainstationary'while the remainder of the linkage operates to move thefinger 45 farther to align the notches 23a and 24a so that they willinterlock. After the carton is expanded and locked, the fingers 42 and45 pivot down to a horizontal position to allow a new carton 13 to bedelivered to the platform and the expanded carton 13 to be ejected.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of our invention appearclearly from the foregoing description.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a machine for setting up partitioned cartons of the type whereinan'outwardly folding bottom wall of the carton is notched to interlockwith a notch in the bottom edge of a partition wall of the carton and anoutwardly folding end wall of the carton is connected to the partitionwall and'operable by movement into the carton outline to bring thenotches into position to interlock, a carton supportingframework adaptedto suppor a carton, abottom wall engaging finger, an end wall en gagingfingerrsaidfingers being pivotally mounted on sair framewor for movementupward and toward'the bot tom" and an end-ofa'carton supported in openpositio thereon, power means connected to both fingers for at vancingthem upwardly and toward said bottom and en respectively, and stop meanslimiting the movement r the bottom Wall engaging finger into the cartonbottor the connection between said power means and the botto wallengaging finger being yieldable whereby to hold sa bottom wall engagingfinger against the stop means d1 ing part of the advancing movement ofthe other fing 2. In a machine for setting up partitioned cartons thetype wherein an outwardly folding bottom wall The outwardly folded thecarton is notched to interlock with a notch in the bottom edge of anamed power means being yieldable said bottom wall engaging fingeragainst the stop means during part of the advancing movement of theother finger.

it down until the downwardly facing suction cups engage and grip theside N 0 references cited.

